The House of Representatives has renewed its decades-old attack on the 40-hour workweek. Once again, some members of Congress are pushing so-called “comp time” legislation that would allow employers to stop giving workers any extra pay for overtime work.

H.R. 1406, the so-called “Working Families Flexibility Act” would take away “Overtime Pay” and replace it with “Comp Time”. This bill is not about providing employees with greater flexibility, but rather about providing employers with greater flexibility to not pay overtime!

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) established the 40-hour workweek to allow employees to spend more time away from work and encourage employers to hire more staff when workloads increase. The “Working Families Flexibility Act” however would encourage employers to demand longer hours because it would allow employers to receive the benefits of overtime work at no additional cost. Employers could pay workers nothing at all for overtime when the work is performed, and schedule “compensatory time” only at their convenience. Under H.R. 1406, mandatory overtime would become cheaper for employers and result in more unpredictable work schedules and higher day care costs for workers.